Sammy & Ilna - you are the currents of air under my paired appendages that enable some animals to fly … there I said it without mentioning the song from Steve's hated film …

Thanks Sammy for the inspiration for this one. And the title!

REALMcRollers, much love and a heartfelt thank you in the form of an OBLIVIOUS!

Babies R Us

Pearl City

"Wanna take the eleva …" Steve stopped at the grin Catherine tossed him over her shoulder. "Escalator it is," he finished with a smile of his own.

"Just 'cause I can't actually see my feet, doesn't mean I need the elevator, just gimme your hand." She made a grabby gesture.

Steve reached out and entwined their fingers, placing his other hand on her back to guide her safely onto the moving steps. "Last year Cath chased a suspect up an escalator at Ala Moana." His eyes glinted with pride as he briefly recounted the story of them encountering a robbery in progress while out to dinner to her parents. "Took him down in less than two minutes."

Joseph and Elizabeth followed them onto the escalator with matching looks of affection as their very pregnant daughter added, "in heels."

At the second floor, she rubbed a hand over her tummy before pointing to the section of the store they were headed for. "Strollers are this way."

Twenty minutes into looking at strollers, they'd narrowed it down to two before Catherine decided a bathroom run, or in her case walk, was in order.

"There're bouncers near the restrooms, I'm going to look at them while I'm there." She patted Steve's arm as he bent, with a serious expression, to examine one of the strollers for mechanical stability. "Danny said to get a really high endurance one, because Niblet's … ours," she chuckled and told Joseph, who nodded his agreement.

"I'll come with you, maybe we need an extra one for the condo." He smiled when she shook her head affectionately and slipped an arm through his.

"I'm going to look at a the high chairs, I'll meet you back here in a bit." Elizabeth's eyes sparkled with excitement as she added, "and they're right next to the layettes…" and headed in the other direction.

Twenty minutes later armed with a shopping basket containing no less than ten tiny outfits and several little board books, Elizabeth entered the furniture department. From yards away she spotted her son in law kneeling next to a light oak convertible crib with a changer. With one hand on the railing, Steve was running the other over every juncture and knob, clearly checking the nuts and bolts to make sure they were smooth and non-scratch and that the latches were up to code. She could picture the schematic and code specs on his phone as he periodically referred to it.

She smiled to herself as the head of the governor's task force slid under a baby's crib like he was sliding under a car chassis, and for the thousandth time unconsciously nodded at how perfectly matched her daughter and Steve truly were.

She was still yards away after stopping to respond to Joseph's text, we're getting a smoothie and water. Want anything? with no, thanks when she raised an eyebrow at the woman who'd approached and knelt next to where Steve was sliding out from under the crib.

When he looked up, the pretty, late-twenties-something woman was so close he had to pull back to see her clearly.

Stepping around to where she was close enough to hear, Elizabeth suppressed a grin at his completely guileless expression when the girl offered him a hand and he shook his head and stood.

"Is that for your niece or nephew?" The blue eyed, auburn haired woman pointed, hope evident in her question.

"It's for my daughter."

Steve's beaming smile lit his face at the mention of Niblet, and Elizabeth couldn't suppress one of her own. This was the McGarrettitis Joseph had witnessed in the plant nursery with Danny all those months ago. Her husband been laughing when he recounted the story, but was clearly pleased at how Steve, even after nearly twenty years, had eyes for no one but Catherine.

"Oh, I'm Serena," her hand shot out and Steve had no choice but to shake it. "That's sweet, are you a single dad? I mean I don't see …" she glanced around. "A baby mama?"

"No. My wife," he still said the word with a smile and such love. "Is with her dad looking at bouncers. My partner said we need a good bouncer, 'cause we're both athletic so the baby probably will be. She's really strong already." Pride clearly evident on his face with every word.

"Ah. How old's your daughter?" The smile dimmed before it returned.

Steve ran a hand behind his neck and stepped back as Serena took a small step forward. "She's due the end of this month. June 29th."

Rarely a man of many words, he obviously had no qualms when tolling her granddaughter's abilities, even though she'd yet to be born. The scenario made Elizabeth chuckle.

"Well, you know … if you ever need a babysitter… maybe … because your wife is um busy … I'd be happy to come for an interview. With you. I could meet you pretty much anywhere."

Elizabeth watched Steve's face as Serena emphasized the last word. He actually was oblivious that she was hitting on him. It wasn't even on his radar as he smiled at his wife's name when he said, "no, we're good. My inlaws are here and they're great. And Catherine's grandmother. She's so excited her grandmother is here, too." He ran a hand over his brow. "I'm trying to make it easier this last month. I'm thinking of one of those college refrigerators for the bedroom. So she can hydrate and not run down to the kitchen when I'm not home."

"That's …" Serena looked dejected. "That's really, uh, nice of you."

"Cath's doing all the work, I'm just the back up til the baby comes. I wanna make it as easy as I can. She's really athletic, and I don't wanna coddle …" he trailed off, seeming to realize he sounded more like Danny than himself as he went on about his family. "Anyway, we don't need sitters, thanks."

With a last wistful look, Serena nodded and said, "lucky lady. Your wife."

Steve said, "I'm the lucky one," turned back to the crib, and spotting his mother in law, smiled broadly as the young woman walked away, already out of his mind. When she reached him he gestured. "If Catherine likes this one, we may have a winner."

Elizabeth gave him a smile very much like her daughter's and patted his arm as he continued, "of course, it also comes in white, but Cath said she kinda liked the natural, so whatever she wants …"

# End. Thanks for reading.

OBLIVIOUS WILL RETURN

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